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Here in Florida
North Miami Beach, Florida 11-6-2000 Aaron H. Schectman
THINKING ALLOWED
Essays on issues, ideas and reflections on the times. Published now and
then. Opinions pro or con are welcome.
HERE IN FLORIDA
Here in Florida things are done differently. Because "peninsula", a
geological term that describes Florida best, is built on coral deposits
millions of years old, the "land" is porous and subject to wettings
(sometimes in hurricane strength) from both the Gulf of Mexico and the
Atlantic Ocean. These facts make it unique and sometimes difficult to
manage to get things to work - witness construction work on bridges,
highways and airports that take endless time to complete. "Incompetence"
sometimes also describes the state.
But, here in Florida there are other differences and these reflect how
Floridians approach their civic duty in voting. It seems to me Florida is
not like other states. There is still a lot of land that is "unincorporated"
This puts political status in a sort of limbo and complicates the picture of
what governmental entity prevails in overseeing different communities'
needs.
This also explains how governmental offices are structured. Here we vote
for judges and other lesser officials who are appointed everywhere else. I
somehow feel uncomfortable voting for a judge, a sheriff and a town business
manager. I also feel confused as well as uncomfortable about putting a hole
next to a name on a piece of cardboard and then thrusting the perforated
cardboard into a box. I have not voted on paper since my first election in
Long Branch, New Jersey with sleazy looking characters overseeing placing my
"ballot" into the box marked "Democrat". This "pin" approach may be
described as prone to voter mistakes, is time consuming, and is inefficient
as well as a mark of the impoverished state that Florida happens to be. I am
used to electronic voting machines and voting in private.
Here in Florida no advance ballot sheets are forwarded to the voter by
voting commissions. One is lucky to find the news in the paper. I have
absolutely no idea in advance how that ballot looks, works or (most
importantly) WHEN the voting place opens. I scrutinized the newspaper
thoroughly and in the absence of a sample ballot, I have no idea if I can go
out to vote early which is the way I performed my civic duty in New Jersey.
Carol's Evaluation: 10 out of 10.
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